Sustainable Gardens

On Thursday, April 30th Professor Melanie Trecek-King and her Issues in Environmental Science students planted a Native New England Garden on the Brockton Campus Quad. This project was supported by a Raise Your Voice Presidential Civic Engagement Activity Fund grant from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Campus Compacts.

The new Native Garden has the following species:
Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Blue wild indigo/False indigo (Baptisia australis)
Summersweet/Coastal sweet pepper bush (Cethra alnifolia)
Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina)
Pink coreopsis/Pink tickseed (Coreopsis rosea)
Dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata)
Virginia rose (Rosa virginiana)
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
Woodland phlox/Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata)

The Native Garden that was planted in November of 2008 has the following species:
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)
Dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata)
Woodland phlox/Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata)
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
New York aster (Aster novae-belgii)
Flat-topped white aster (Aster umbellatus)
Appalachian sedge (Carex appalachica)
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
Oak-leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus)
Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium turbinellum)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Barren wild strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides)

If you are looking to add new flowers and plants to your native home garden, you may want to consider buying your supplies at the following locations:

Garden in the Woods in Framingham - Everything they carry is native!
http://www.newfs.org/

Kennedy’s Country Gardens in Scituate - They carry the American Beauty brand of natives
http://www.kennedyscountrygardens.com/

Please take a few moments from your busy schedules to visit the quad and enjoy the native gardens!

Check out the AASHE blog

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada working to create a sustainable future. It was founded in 2006 with a mission to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education - from governance and operations to curriculum and outreach - through education, communication, research and professional development. Businesses, NGO's, and government agencies can participate as AASHE partner members.

Check it out.

Sustainable Native New England Garden Planting at Massasoit Community College

Please join Professor Melanie Trecek-King and her Issues in Environmental Science students as they plant a Sustainable Native New England Garden on the Brockton campus quad on Thursday, April 30 at 10:00 a.m. This project is supported by a Raise Your Voice Presidential Civic Engagement Activity Fund grant from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Campus Compacts.

The garden is part of an ongoing effort – spearheaded by Massasoit’s Sustainability Task Force Landscaping Committee – to rid the campus of invasive plant species and introduce native, non-invasive plants that are adapted to the New England environment and can thrive with minimal watering and maintenance.

Vice President of Administration Betty Ann Learned will speak at the planting about Massasoit’s sustainability initiatives since President Charles Wall signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2007. Special guest will be Barbara Canyes, Executive Director of Massachusetts Campus Compact.

Win an Amazon Kindle2

With more than 240,000 books available, plus top newspapers, magazines, and blogs, riding the train or bus has never been more fun.
Sign up in the MassRIDES ridematching database or view your online profile today and automatically be eligible for this prize.

(Winners will be notified May 4th, 2009. One new and one existing applicant who accesses their profile at www.commute.com will be awarded a prize.)

Webcast: Chill Out

The National Wildlife Federation is hosting a webcast on April 15th entitled: Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming. The college campus with the most people registered will win a free concert by The Steps. The Steps are an up-and-coming band from Austin, TX that just had a huge premier at South by Southwest music festival. I realize that this is short notice but the deadline to register to win the free concert is April 5th.

Please register now at www.campuschillout.org

Earth Hour

The next Earth Hour will take place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm, local time. Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Currently, 82 countries and more than 2100 cities are committed to Earth Hour 2009, a huge increase from people participating in 35 countries for Earth Hour 2008.

I hope that everyone will take part!

Logo Design Contest!

Enter the
Emerald Earth Environmental Fair
Logo Design Contest
Submit your logo to Student Life by 3/13/09.
The winning design will be printed on Limited Edition t-shirts and the winner will receive a $100 gift card to the South Shore Plaza in Braintree!

Contact the Student Life Office for more details!